Sorry about that
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jan 07, 2008 
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Yes, my useless post on Pete Mackanin broke up the good Clemens conversation. I was driving for three hours and listening to Mike and the Mad Dog, so my brain was rattled.
Please, continue on here …
(Thanks to the lawyer-types who are shining a light on this mess, too).
UPDATE, 7:56 p.m.: Over on Sports Illustrated.com, Jon Heyman has an exclusive interview with Brian McNamee.
The story has this passage: “His eyes maneuver between his 23-inch television and a computer monitor that is providing minute-by-minute reviews of Clemens’ interview. The trainer reads aloud from e-mails that are supportive of him.”
Is there any chance McNamee was reading the live blog we had here last night? Interesting if he was.
Well, Brian, if you are reading the blog and want to explain your side to a big audience, we’re here for you. I’ll be in touch.
UPDATE, 9:42 p.m.: If you want to read the lawsuit, here it is.
We’re close to 900 comments on the blog today. It’s amazing how this situation has captured the imagination of people.
UPDATE, 10:43 p.m.: Chairman Hank has weighed in from Tampa:
“I thought that the press conference spoke for itself,” he said to an AP reporter at Legends Field. I thought the media commentary after the press conference was over was a little harsh. Too much rush to judgment in this country. As far as whether he’s telling the truth or not, I have no clue. But I’m not going to say, well, he’s lying, like everybody on TV did after he was done.
“Everybody, the media, all said, ‘Oh, he’s got to sue.’ (Barry) Bonds never sued. Everybody said, ‘Why not?’ Well, this guy is suing and now they still don’t believe him. You’ve got to start to wonder at some point. I don’t rush to judgment. That’s the big thing with me. I don’t do that, and that’s the exact term for it, rush to judgment.”
Three hours?
Hope you had good roads. I got a four hour one myself on Sunday…back to the great Arctic wasteland that is Syarcuse…
It would’ve been nice if Mad Dog could shut up for 3 seconds so we could listen to the press conference and not his stupid little comments. I eventually just turned on ESPN. Russo is ridiculous.
Rebecca-
Ever stop in Skaneateles? You should grab some lunch by the water.
Thanks Pete!!
I also really appreciate the lawyers (like murphydog) who have been posting all day. You cant get that kind of insight from the media…
Syracuse was balmy today at 57 degrees. Skaneateles is out of the way for Rebecca, its at least an hour extra to her trip to go there.
Is there a transcript of the tape anywhere?
Russo just talks crap.MIke actually was making good sense.
I like how Mike said to Dog when Dog said Why didn’t Mcnamee said Clemens didn’t do it or say in the phone conversation “How I Lied to Mitchell”.
Mike said if Brian Mcnamee were to say he lied to Mitchell about Clemens in that phone conversation with Clemens he would have been in jail right now.That maybe Mcnamee lawyer said not to say to much only he was sorry in that phone call.
I think we will never know if Clemens did or didn’t take steroids.And I think he will go to the Hall Of Fame.Not enough evidence against him.
Buddy and Grrr: I was actually there a couple years ago, drove out with my friend.
Had dinner right by the lake, on a balmy day in February or March, at this Asian fusion place.
It was GORGEOUS.
I went to a wedding there a few years back, I thought it was closer to Syracuse, nice place though.
It’s about an hour.
Roger Cossack, legal analyst for ESPN, thinks the presser & tape were a PR masterpiece. Look for ESPN to replace him soon. He and Buster are the only ones I’ve heard so far that are looking at it in a neutral light.
I’m a little disappointed though. Disappointed that Roger didn’t tell those writers to stick their HOF votes. He was truly pissed at some of those guys. I wish they would i.d. the reporters as they asked the questions.
How ’bout that? On the day of the national football championship an ex-Yankee is taking up air space.
Just watching it now, they are bleeping everything.
*tell those writers where to stick their HOF votes*
mel –
I wonder if Steve Phillips will blame Roger for trying to detract from the BCS Championship game like his former teammate ARod. “Those Yankee scumbags!”
Roger looks like a beaten man.
If anyone has ESPN News. They’re playing the audio tape now. Talking about Brian Jr.
Everyone loves a good legal drama much more than a rather arbitrary college football game.
Playoffs, you talking about playoffs?!
not to change the subject, but good article on the SWB Yanks Blog about the top 15 Yankees prospects:
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.....fault.aspx
from Deric McKamey – the director of minor league analysis at BaseballHQ.
He said, You just need to come out and tell the truth.
I feel awful for Rogers kids, they are put in the middle of this mess, and they have nothing to do with it.
I’ll repeat what others have said, why didn’t McNamee say I TOLD THE TRUTH, I’m sorry Roger, but I had to do it. Why didn’t he say that?
This is all A-rods fault
murphydog might be right. Mcnamee is simultaneously asking for money and trying to get Roger to trip himself up and tamper with him.
Jennifer – I agree with you but also Roger’s lawyers were present for the phone call. Why didn’t they have Roger say to McNamee “What I want you to do is tell the truth” when McNamee kept asking Roger what he could do.
here is a good post by murphydog (hope he doesnt mind me reposting):
murphydog January 7th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I mentioned in an earlier thread that it sounded to my trained ear that both sides knew they were being taped and that each side was tying to get the other to say something damaging. That’s why neither side sounded natural and didn’t come out and directly confront the other.
McNamee was desperate to get Roger to say something along the lines of some kind of gift, money or a plane ticket, something. he kept playing the poverty card and saying “Tell me what you want me to do.†Translation: “please tamper with me, offer me something or direct me to do something that helps you in some way.â€
Roger was throwing in the lines from his script about “I don’t understand why you did it. And somebody has to tell the truth,†hoping McNamee would slip up.
Before I end however, here’s the $24,000 question: between Roger and McNamee, who used to earn his living making recording phone calls and face to face conversations with drug dealers and buyers? Uh, McNamee, the former NYPD NARC. Don’t fall for his teary “sad dad with a sick kid†act. He’s got ice water in his veins, people. He was trying to set Roger up like he used to set up drug dealers and buyers all day long.
Roger: “For the life of me, I’m trying to figure out why you said I used steroids.”
McNamee: (pause)”I understand that.”
Fran -
because that would be witness tampering (according to the legal experts)
Am I the only who thinks they were BOTH recording that call? Didn’t Hardin say that it was McNamee’s people that leaked it to the press? So …. what, Roger’s people sent it to him to have his people leak it?
They were both playing this phone call. Like murphy said in another thread – McNamee’s sob story shouldn’t sway people. He knew what he was doing in that phone call. Roger just happens to call him out of the blue in the middle of all this crap and he’s not going to be skeptical? I’m not being insensitive to the fact that his son is seriously sick – but I agree with murphydog that he knew exactly what he was doing from his prior work as a cop.
Fran, as others have already pointed out, that could be witness tampering. He did say something like just tell the truth.
Wolf – I just reposted murphydogs post… very good insight
Pete Mackanin, biggest Yankee story this offseason.
I am so mad I have a job now! When I was unemployed I could watch this crap whenever I wanted!
JUST POSTED:
McNamee speaks to SI’s Jon Heynman:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....index.html
Andrea – I snuck out of work early to get home by 5pm
The teams can coroborate the use of b-12, and that it is used a lot.
Roger looks furious.
Boston Dave and Jennifer – Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Jennifer, he DID say to come out and tell the truth! But it was not in direct response to one of McNamee’s million “What do you want to me to do, just tell me what to do?” questions. It was kind of lost in the middle of some other statements by McNamees. But he did say it.
It was incredibly painful to listen to.
From the Heynman article:
When Clemens claims to have no knowledge that Andy Pettitte — Clemens’ close friend and training partner, and another former client of McNamee — had twice taken HGH, thus corroborating McNamee’s testimony in the Mitchell Report, the trainer interjects, “I believe that.”
So, enough with the BFF’s know everything BS…
does anyone know if the call/press conference tape/transcript is on the internet somewhere?
And did someone actually question his friendship with Andy.
Jennifer -
good article by Buster Olney this morning which linked to Boston.com.
Mike Boddicker said he witnessed Clemens getting a B12 shot by the team trainer when he was with the Sox. He said Clemens was the hardest working athlete he’d ever seen and he worked his body so hard that he absolutely believe Clemens needed the B12.
Sorry I am way behind everyone, I’m just watching it now.
if anyone has ever testified in a court case, they know it’s not easy to just tell the truth. you have to tell the truth in the right way. too much emotion is bad; too little is bad.
clemens is laying it all out there. no one expected this.
once something is a legal matter, everyone knows that all times everything is on record. mcnamee knew it . clemens knew it. i think mcnamee was trying to set up clemens for witness tampering. i think he knows he’s in the crosshairs now with the wallace interview, the defamation suit, and the press conference .
i’m waiting now for the other shoe to drop. mitchell, irs agent novitzky, us attorney
parrella have all been named in an unflatterin way in the defamation suit against mcnamee. if they don’t have anything on clemens more on clemens than mcnamee’s tesimony , i’m sure they are looking as we speak. hopefully they won’t be making something up.
The most telling comment to my ear: from McNamee – “Do you want me to go to jail? Just tell me what you want me to do.”
Article where Mike Boddicker corroborates with Roger’s claim that he injected B12 (by a Red Sox trainer):
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....ng/?page=3
Boston Dave: I should have thought ahead.
espn has the scroll of what fans think
what a moron.
“he sounds way to defensive to be innocent.”
Um wouldn’t you be angry if someone lied about you?
I can only speak for the laws in New York, but it is absolutely not witness tampering to implore someone to tell the truth so long as that suggestion or influence is sincere. In other words, you can’t hold a gun to a person’s head and say, “You need to tell the truth…and you know what the truth is, right?” But you can demand that someone tell the truth.
Hi Pete and Yankees fans. I’m just wondering if anybody else felt like me, that for a moment or two it seemed, “What if Clemens is innocent?”
I don’t really think he is. I wrote about it on my blog:
http://carp.lohudblogs.com/
Please let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Carp
I would love to see the line of questioning for Mitchell.
“Why didn’t you present a comprehensive report?”
“Why were you not open with individual players about the allegations against them?”
“Do you regret not recusing yourself from this investigation?”
Carp – awful blog
do a little research before posting for others to read. you obviously have done none.
to everyone else, dont waste your time on crap… i mean carp.
Roger threw a high hard one right at the melonheads of the press. “Don’t want to vote for me? I don’t give a damn, it’s not why I played my career.”
Stop this crap–who cares?
Guys of the BBWA who parade around, never having pitched an inning in their lives, holding their vote to the HOF as if they are the final arbiters of the game…
Give us all a f-ing break. Come down to earth, gentlemen.
You’re sportswriters, not players. Honestly, we want you to report the sports news, and maybe give us some insight and background of the clubhouse and the road where we cannot go.
Do we really care what you think? No. Stop telling us what to think.
Go ahead, make Roger’s day. Refuse to vote him into the HOF. Hw threw down the gauntlet today, to all of you, for the whole steroids mess.
Unfortunately, some of you pressboys (not you Pete) have your collective head stuck so far up where the sun doesn’t shine that it may take you until opening day to figure out that the public has had enough of this.
Watch Congress in a few weeks–the only institution in America right now more arrogant than the press. It will be the end of this sorry episode. Interesting how former Yankees are going to end it, not Pedro or Ortiz (good work, George “Red Sox Board Member” Mitchell).
thanks for posting that boston dave … did you read the interview with gossage below it? he was talking trash about manny … i love it.
“A pitcher can’t scare a hitter anymore or he’ll get thrown out of the game. The strike zone is the size of a postage stamp. Hitters are wearing all that armor, the ball is livelier, the ballparks are smaller. I don’t have the respect for Manny as I did for Jimmy (Rice). If Manny did that stuff when we were playing, he’d get dusted every time up. He could never get away with that.”"
gotta love the goose
Does anyone know the deal or story with McNamee’s son(s)? I heard Clemens talk about McNamee’s sons and wanted to know what the deal was.
Roger is a very family oriented man. This was evident by him leaving NYY to go pitch in Houston, watch Koby go through the farm system and be close to the rest of his family. By him flat out telling McNamee that he needs to come out and say he lied, would put him behind bars for many years for committing perjury. Would Roger want this on his conscious knowing he pulled a father away from his sons just to clear his name and make him sleep better at night that people dont think he’s a cheater? I feel like Roger wants “someone to tell the truth”- perhaps someone that can support Clemens’ stance without putting McNamee behind bars?
Time will tell.
Re: The Tape
(1) Nothing Clemens said is of any value because he knew it was being taped. With the help of legal coaching, his every statement is self-serving.
(2) Nothing McNamee said is of any value because he feared that the conversation was being taped. He even commented in the beginning that there was no other party involved on his side of the conversation.
Re: Clemens’ “Body Language” …… His most common Boston persona can be charitably described as “Texas Bully.” I don’t necessarily mean that it a negative way. He has never had much use for the media (especially the critical ones), so he would huff and puff and bluster. And he would do this whether he was right or wrong. Roger is not a sophisticated man.
So Roger’s body language is simply Roger being Roger. He would act that way whether he was lying or telling the truth.
Re: Roger’s lawyer …. maybe Murphydog can explain this one for me. Why would his defamation suit excoriate Mitchell, the Federal Government, McNamee, and any and all investigatory processes, but the lawyer went out of his way to pay homage to all of those entities in the press conference(excepting McNamee, I guess)? His opening press conference remarks contradicted the basic premise of the law suit.
Go GOOOOSE!!
I have to tell a friend to im me and let me know if Goose gets in. I’ll jump up and scream in court, the judge will tell me to shut up and I’ll say GOOOSE got in. Now let me off the case.
This is what I posted on Carp’s blog. A lot nicer than what Boston Dave posted. Brutal, dude!
boston dave
Chad Jennings SWB blog is a great source! i check it right after Pete’s blog every day. He keeps up on all the personell moves for the yanks and the swb yanks as well as trenton. He spent the summer raving about Joba and IAK and gets the scouts read on all the upper minor league players in the organization. As a yankees fan who lives in Philly, i go to trenton games whenever i have the chance, take the trip out to scranton when possible and love the info i get from chad’s blog. hope hes gonna guest blog for pete this month!
Hi Pete how do I change my vote from “yes” to “no” on the poll “did Clemens use steroids?”
fox news just switched from the new hampshire primary to the clemens/ mcnamee phone call. mcnamee is the one getting hammered now. the media tide is starting to turn for clemens as analysts are looking at mcnamee closer.
based on that phone call, someone ought to put a suicide watch on mcnamee.
Carp: You should read murphydog’s post throughout the day today, he sheds an excellent light on a lot of your questions.
the todd -
its so true… baseball has changed quite a bit. another reason why hitting #s are up.
Randy l
I think that’s a valid observation about McNamee’s state of mind. It’s one of the things that was going on in my mind as I was listening, not so much to the words but to the tone. It was one of the reasons it was so uncomfortable to listen to that call.
Dang, you guys are real harsh.
Should I be scared?
Brian (Sox fan) -
Its possible and maybe likely that McNamee’s lawyers were recording the conversation as well. Read some of murphydog’s posts (I reposted it a ways up on this thread)… he has been a very good resource for posts today.
Was Radomski under the employ of the Mets during Phillips’ tenure?
What’s Phillips obsession with pendulums?
brian (sox fan)
first off, welcome, im not a hater and it is good to have the decet sox fans (the trolls can go) but…
clemens sounding self serving? what else is anybody but self serving. whether he is guilty and trying to cover up or innocent and trying to clear his name, he is nothing but self serving so that says nothing to the point.
mel -
the problem i had with carp’s blog was that he clearly had done little or no research before making his claims. if someone has a blog and wants to add insight for others, it would help if you knew at least as much as your readers. carp knows less about the situation than any of us.
Roger is an animal!
I love it! Eh, the man is going to Congress…that is more than can be said for some. He has got gigantic balls if he is going to lie in front of Congress. Then again, they’ll probably never gain any kind of substantial evidence indicating that the Rocket did in fact juice. So maybe he will lie.
No one knows what to believe, it’ll all just be hearsay in the end.
Can he sue the HOF? I mean, if they get no substantial evidence short of word-of-mouth, can they bar him from the HOF with his credentials? He probably wouldn’t waste his time, but if he wanted to, could he?
mel: If I answered that question about pendulums, we’d end up talking about clown hair again
Roger wouldn’t bite and probably with some hand signals from his advisors like a 3rd base coach during the actual phone call in Texas.
Almost a reminder of how a pitcher shakes off a signal from his catcher when he doesn’t like the pitch called for.
McNamee initiated the contact VIA e-mail and had ample time to rehearse his Academy Award performance for the phone call he knew he’d get. He put on a beauty of a desperation and poormouth act to Roger. Next stop: Broadway.
I have seen Phillips on ESPN and he def has an axe to grind with Roger.
It would be nice to know whether Roger called McNamee out of the blue. Didn’t Roger mention something about receiving an email from Roger just days before his 60 Minutes Interview? For controlled phone calls to work, you obviously want the person to be unaware and unprepared it’s coming. I’m assuming that Roger’s lawyers understand that. But if you want to get real Machiavellian here, one might suggest that email was more than just about fishing gear. It was about fishing. For information. Maybe McNamee and his lawyers were ready and waiting for Roger’s phone call — that the email was a teaser to get him call — and that both of these guys were coached and playing, even if they thought the other one wasn’t.
i would like to see roger beat the crap out of mcnamee in front of congress
brian(redsoxfan),
now that it sounds like you are actually reading the defamtion suit, it appears your intellect is beginning to kick in and override your bias and dislike of clemens.
you are actually starting to have questions about the process, amazing.
not that you have changed your mind about clemens, but surely you have begun to see that coercion may have been used by the feds to get testimony from mcnamee.
mel
I pointed that out before. I believe Phillips was GM while Radomski was working for the Mets. I want to know why no one in the media has called him out on this.
baseball expert
McNamee will start crying about his son to look for sympathy. Let the record state I feel awful for his son, poor kid only 10 and going thru hell.
drew41 the call was made friday, after the 60 minutes interview was taped.
clemens was with his lawyers when the call was made, and mcnemee is on his cel phone but he was carefully trying to make his case without saying anything to get him in trouble so if he wasnt with his lawyers at the time of the call, he had certainly been coached as to handle any such call before it came.
Thanks to Boston Dave for posting the link to the Heyman interview. I thought it was interesting that there was nothing about his sick son there, but there were plenty of the same lines McNamee said on the phone call. I think the interview supports murphydog and others’ opinion that McNamee knew he was being recorded in the call, and was trying to set up Clemens for a tampering charge.
Only really interesting point was that he believes Clemens’ didn’t know about Andy. Obviously this wasn’t something the three of them talked about when together. So it is logical that Andy would know nothing about Clemens’ steroid use, if he was using. Alternatively, it could also mean that McNamee is acknowleding that Clemens was against steroids, Andy knew this, and therefore McNamee isn’t surprised Andy never told Roger about his brief HGH use.
Clay –
80% or so of the country hates the Yankees. Phillips hating the Yankees only increases viewership. However, it’s one thing to say the Yankees wont make the playoffs (and be wrong). It’s another thing to consistently say someone seems guilty of a crime based on questionable evidence. It’s really sad how the media handles stuff like this. But I guess they need to feed the hungry viewers.
doreen-
you can hear the pain in mcnamee. he’s in trouble from so many directions, nothing would surprise me. i’m not sure he’s even off the hook for that date rape drug thing in florida. just that it’s out there has to add to the pressure. clemens lawyer is attacking from all sides and it’s only going to get worse.
something is going to happen. either the feds come in and grab mcnamee as they try to rehabilitate him and calm him down or i think he snaps.
it’s an odd behavior for someone if they are telling the truth.
just read that Ward. McNamee’s lawyer, said that McNamee lied to Clemens lawyers about being pressured by the feds. I think when you evaluate McNamee’s credibility, this has to be part of it.
Ward’s explanation of why he says McNamee lied:
“He lied to them and tried to say, ’Well, they pressured me,’ because he wanted to continue to stay in the good graces of Roger,”
from the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01.....emens.html
Check out the update I just did on this post. Seems that McNamee reads this blog.
The Heyman story doesn’t smell right. He talks about neatly stacked diapers as a sign of McNamee being a family man (whatever). Yet, McNamee said he has a 7 and 10 year old…who are the diapers for?
clare,
i thought that was amazing that mcnamee said that it didn’t surprise him that clemens didn’tt know about mcnamee giving hgh to pettitte.
george -
thanks for the post…. very interesting
“Can he sue the HOF? I mean, if they get no substantial evidence short of word-of-mouth, can they bar him from the HOF with his credentials? He probably wouldn’t waste his time, but if he wanted to, could he?”
My guess: Yes, he could. But he’d lose.
The HOF is a private museum. A player can be awarded a plaque in the Hall of Fame by vote of the BBWAA or the various special committees (like the veterans committee).
Suing over not getting in would be suing because you finished second in the MVP balloting or for the Heisman trophy. It’s an honorary accolade which no one has a right to expect.
Having said that, I have to add that the law changes constantly so you just never know.
From the NY Times article:
Richard D. Emery, McNamee’s lawyer, said he talked to his client shortly after Clemens’s news conference and said, “It’s war now.â€
Emery criticized Clemens for manipulating McNamee during the Jan. 4 phone call and said McNamee was just trying to ingratiate himself to Clemens, whom he loved and admired.
Its war now? Please…
peter a.-
people can go on 60 minutes, face national news conferences, submit to congressional subpoenas, but no one would be crazy enough to face the heat of this blog. they’d have no chance if they were lying.
pete, YOU ARE THE BOMB!!!
i know, lets just have rocket and mcnamee slug it out right here on the LoHud blog!
we’ll use murphdog as the judge, rebecca (or is it mel) as clerk and Boston Dave can represent roger
plenty of trolls to represent McNamee!
we wont let them slide around the subject like Mike Wallace did!
YOU DA MAN PETE!
“The Heyman story doesn’t smell right. He talks about neatly stacked diapers as a sign of McNamee being a family man (whatever). Yet, McNamee said he has a 7 and 10 year old…who are the diapers for?”
They must be the same diapers that were stacked up the night this good family man was in the Florida pool with the woman he drugged and tried to rape.
Hey, look. We all make mistakes, but we don’t all drug women so we can rape them and buy, sell and possess illegal PEDs. Somebody really ought to test Heyman’s blood. He was so desperate for the exclusive on McNamee he threw objectivity out the window.
Also, I wonder what McNamee’s motivation for the interview was, and why his lawyers let him do it. Clearly he’s seeking sympathy and trying to build his credibility, but it seems risky to me. Also, as G noted above, Heyman talked about the kids, but nothing about the sick one?
Also, McNamee’s lawyer didn’t help by stating that McNamee lied (about being pressured). Sure, that’s the position he has to take, but it just adds fuel to the “so you lied here, and here, and here, and here, but you want this jury to believe that NOW you’re telling the truth?” line of cross-examination.
murphydog or anyone with legal expertise:
based on the NY Times article, if McNamee did indeed lie to Clemens’ attorneys about being pressured, how does that impact a potential jury trial?
I imagine that would help Clemens, right? McNamee knew he was being recorded and lied. Just another strike against McNamee’s reliability. I dunno…
cupaJOBA – I think you’re right and your points helps put a lot of things together.
Here’s my theory on what happened: McNamee gets caught and threatened with jail. He gives them truthful information on Pettitte. But Andy taking HGH a couple of times isn’t going to get the feds much. So they lean on him for more. McNamee’s told that if he lies, he’ll go to jail. But if he doesn’t tell them something, he’ll be going to jail anyway. So he tells them a story about Roger Clemens. Either McNamee doesn’t think it is going anywhere or he thinks that if it becomes public, Roger will deny it but eventually it will all blow over, will be Roger’s word against his, and the feds can never prove he lied. [btw - anyone know when his kid was diagnosed, if before he squealed even more support for his need to avoid jail].
But now reality hits. Roger comes out guns blazing, denying it all. McNamee can’t admit he lied. So he emailed Roger, and told him about his sick kid. Then has a conversation and the first thing they talk about is McNamee’s sick kid. (READ: Roger, have some pity on me here.) So when Roger denies using, McNamee doesn’t challenge him. McNamee says “what do you want me to do — do you want me to go to jail?” (READ: If I admit I lied Roger, I’m going to jail and my kid will die without me here, do you really want that to happen??) And Roger can’t bring himself to say “admit you lied.” Instead, he says “someone” has to tell the truth. . .
Anyway. Just my theory.
hay mcnamee:
if you’re reading
1)hope your son gets better (sincerly)
2)you’re a slimeball!
“It’s war now.â€
Oh spare me, Mr. Emery. It’s war now because Roger had the nerve to fight back instead of just laying down to die. I think Emery’s a little late to the party. McNamee did his best Pearl Harbor impersonation a few weeks ago.
lol i miss bernie -
has anybody ever seen Brian McNamee and Johnny Fairplay (the guy who lied about his dead grandmother on Survivor) in the same place???
hmmm????
welcome back murphydog….
so what do you think about McNamee supposedly lying to Clemens’ attorneys about being coerced or pressured to implicate Roger?
Lori –
anything is possible. at this point, I wouldnt be upset if, even if Roger is guilty, he is exonerated and is able to make a mockery of the Mitchell Report. The whole thing stinks and Selig tried to hammer Clemens to distract everyone from the real problem(s) that occurred in MLB.
murph – great posts today. I was reading from work. Spot on stuff.
“based on the NY Times article, if McNamee did indeed lie to Clemens’ attorneys about being pressured, how does that impact a potential jury trial?”
Well, it was a strategic lie to a soon-to-be-legal adversary. Hardin will add it to the Mountain of Lies told by Judas McNamee. Emery and Ward will say that poor, destitute, truth-telling McNamee lied to Roger solely to save himself from the wrath of the awful, powerful, rich and famous Clemens.
Most stuff is going to cut two ways from hereon out.
Randy 1 ….. That’s what prosecutors do; coerce witnesses. They employ a divide and conquer strategy where it is best to be the first to cooperate. But you know that.
Obviously, the question is whether that fact irreparably damages the value of the testimony. And that varies from case to case.
I had serious doubts about Clemens long before I knew Brian McNamee existed (as you know). In all candor, I’m not unhappy that this nasty process has lead to his (Clemens’) door.
People lose millions of dollars in civil suits based on preponderance of evidence (51%). I’m adamant that that standard has already been reached. But I can understand those who are looking for virtual certainty. The problem is, that may never happen.
So, as with Lizzie Borden, future generations will have to make up their minds based on what’s available. (P.S. I think Lizzie did it, too.)
Brian, if you are reading, I do hope your son gets better. I know firsthand how devastating celiac can be.
Keep him off any sort of whitebread and eat lots of probiotic yogurts.
murphydog -
if I were on that jury, I’d consider that +1 for Camp Clemens.
lies, selective or not, dont help someone who is already of questionable character and being accused of lying in the first place.
Lori
My theory is pretty similar. But I think it all goes back to the erroneous LATimes article (which stated that Pettitte and Clemens were named in the Grimsley affidavit).
Ever since then, the public perception has been that those two were steroid users. So, the feds had their trainer on the hook, they wanted Clemens and Pettitte named. Once McNamee tells them about Pettitte’s very brief HGH use, that reinforced their belief that the LATimes was right, and they kept the pressure on him til he gave up Clemens.
I just realized the hole in this theory, though, which is if the people pressuring McNamee were the same ones involved in the Grimsley mess, they should have known the LATimes article was false.
But still, I think the LATimes should be required to divulge their source who lied about Clemens, so that person’s bias/motivation can be examined. There should be no expectation that a reporter won’t divulge a source once they discover the source used the reporter’s promise of anonymity to lie. (I realize reporters don’t agree with this, however).
McNamee’s reaction to this statement by Roger during the 60 minutes interview:
“Well, I think he’s been buying and movin’ steroids.”
According to Heyman’s report:
“I’d rather be called a liar than a drug pusher,” McNamee says, his voice rising.
He gathers himself, then continues. “The feds look at bank accounts, and there’s no money unaccounted for. I don’t launder money. I don’t have anything in my mattress. If I was pushing drugs, what did I do with the money?”
He seems to think that just because he didn’t make money from making the drugs accessible, and even injecting them, that he isn’t involved in that type of criminal activity. He says in the Mitchell report that he bought HGH/steroids from Radomski and gave them to his clients. He seems to be in denial about exactly what he did that was wrong.
I think’s Ward’s comments are contradicted by his client’s:
“All I did was what I thought was right,†McNamee said at one point. “I didn’t think it was right, but I had no other choice.â€
Brian (Red Sox fan) –
as murphydog stated earlier, and i prob am butchering this, the idea that federal prosecutors were invovled to the degree that they were, in a non-criminal case of this nature, was already questionable. then if they used excessive coercion or questionable tactics, it just doesnt seem right.
The question that I keep coming back to is “How did Mitchell put his name to such a botched report?” Sure there were some names that panned out, but the star name seems to be, at the very least, debatable. With all the fallout, you’d think someone like Mitchell would think ahead and answer some of these questions before they’re ever posed.
Then I remember that, often, the simplest explanation is the correct one. This was a PR hit job on the players by Selig & Co. Shame them in public. Plant a seed of doubt out there and the players will fall in line.
Doreen –
I noticed that also. Very peculiar.
i miss bernie-
i’m glad you seem to be switching over to the “i don’t know” side and giving clemens more of the benefit of the doubt. you were all over murphydog and me the other night for taking an “i don’t know position.
don’t you think that a lot of people have likewise shifted their opinion based on the new information that has been coming on an almost hourly basis?
good catch Lori
If his boy has bad celiac disease he might need the diapers no matter how old.
in the words of keith morris:
“deny everything, deny everything.”
Randi I-
You got that right!!
How was Mcnamee manupulated. It sounded to me like he was trying to do the manipulation by crying about his living situation.
Clare,
That is interesting also. I wonder who the LA Times source was also. Was there ever a formal retraction?
Mr. G – I totally agree. If by some chance Clemens is telling the truth, and the whole Mitchell investigation is exposed for a Selig-sponsored witch hunt . . . it could end up dwarfing the steroid era story.
Boston Dave -
He also justified what he was doing by saying if the clients were inclined to do it anyway, he could at least make sure it was the best product available, Then he talks about how he talked to youth groups about the value of the workouts and going about strength building in a healthy way. This guy is unbelievable.
randy,
i posted earlier that the more the light is being shone on McNamee, the worse he looks. i cant say i believe roger either, but i also said that if McNamees tesimony is the only direct evidence against roger, it is not enough to keep him out of the hall of fame.
but once again i ask you your opinion do u think roger took ped’s
you never answered me last time.
(i still think he did)
murphydog -
“In a phone interview Monday, Emery said he will move to bring the suit to federal court or a New York state court, instead of a Texas court.”
How does this impact a potential case (other than the travel) ?
Bernie -
That’s the thing – how could Mitchell go forward with this on Clemens with such flimsy evidence from such a questionable source. You would think with a player of such stature, he would be especially careful that whatever evidence he had was absolutely incontrovertible. Or on any player, for that matter. No names should have been published.
I was glad when Clemens asked if it was OK to drink some water….Michael Kay mentioned that tonight on his radio show,that Roger looked uneasy in 60 Minutes interview,holding a pen,holding a piece of paper,the reaching for a bottle of water.
When a person speaks at my church,they are given a glass of water which is underneath the podium.
And then he had the nerve to say that Roger should use all of his financial resources down to the coins in his kids piggy banks to fight for his name………..come on!!!!
Boston Dave,
Yes, when the Grimsley affidavit was unsealed the LATImes printed a retraction/apology – which is what Clemens was referring to when he said he got an apology at the apology at the bottom of the page (which doesn’t help much). But they (of course) never said who their source was, or explained how they were so wrong.
There’s more to the Grimsley affidavit story as well. Because the government had argued that it needed to stay sealed, and then it was suddenly unsealed after the Mitchell report. The Hearst corporation has filed a motion seeking an explanation of this.
Boston Dave: Just guessing here, but I’m assuming that would have to do with the judge and jury (if there is one) that hears the case, and trying to find someone with the least knowledge of the situation.
Doreen –
Do you think if it was David Ortiz instead of Rocket there might have been some pause or additional research done?
I honestly cant say they wouldnt have. I dont know. Clemens is almost the perfect target for the Selig/Mitchell report. Except of course that he fights back.
doreen i agree
my belief that roger took ped’s comes strictly from my belief that nobody who’s 44 has ever pitched to the level that roger did at that age. nothing else. i may be wrong but i think im right. but its only my opinion and it can be changed.
as for pettite, he cheated plain and simple.
Boston Dave: I’m with Rebecca here. Moving it to another state is all about getting a different judge/jury pool.
o’reilly show right now on clemens.
Clare – that is definitely interesting. Keep us posted if you hear more on that. thanks.
no one got my keith morris reference?
To jump in on the question to murphydog:
One key impact is the judge assigned – generally (and I know nothing about the Texas judge assigned to this case), federal judges are better than state court judges. Another big impact is on the jury pool. A federal district is not the same as a Texas county district, so the jury pool is larger. And obviously if this ends up in NY (which I would tend to doubt), a NY jury pool is different than a Texas jury pool.
To some degree, it also depends on how it gets to the other court. If it is simply “removed” from state court to federal court, the Texas state law still applies. Even if it is eventually transferred to NY federal court, Texas substantive law would still apply (i.e., what Clemens would have to prove, McNamee’s legal defenses). If, somehow, it got dismissed from Texas court altogether and a new case filed in NY, then NY state law would apply.
Which could it ends up in could also impact the time it takes to work its way through the courts.
Rebecca/Rodg12 –
guess that makes sense. I read somewhere that Clemens’ attorneys are pretty good at home. not sure what their away record is
Completely agree Doreen. And if he can’t find incontrovertible evidence, he should’ve found some corraborating evidence. Absent any of that, his best move would’ve been to state what he found, but not mention any names.
For example, “Trainer X who worked for 3 different teams over the course of 10 years stated that he injected Player Y with steroids and HGH on 15 different occasions.” OF course the media would’ve run wild with speculation as to who the unamed parties were, but it would’ve achieved the stated objective (to find out what role did/do PED’s have in MLB) without creating this mess.
Jennifer.. you are right re: Phillips. Why don’t they nail that slug. Radomski worked for him.
Guess the Law and Order marathons I watched on New Year’s did some good!
o’reilly is a dumb a but even he says clemens is innocent until proven guilty.
it’s interesting how the media tide is turning.
Boston Dave,
Ward has a real good shot at getting it in a federal court in Texas. Any case where the parties are from two different states, and the amount in controversy (potential damages) are over $75,000 can be “removed” to the federal court that covers the area where the state court case is filed. Since Clemens and McNamee are the only two parties, and the petition concedes they are from different states, Clemens doesn’t have much of an argument to try to keep the case in state court. I don’t see much downside to Clemens if the case is in federal court (except possibly Hardin might have less influence on a federal judge).
I don’t think Ward has a prayer at getting the case moved to NY.
Thanks Lori. I wasnt sure if it would make it harder/easier for Clemens to prove his case either. I had heard that the burden of proof is more lax in some states.
The fact that Mitchell named names is total headline seeking BS. I find it small and spiteful. It seems that it was done simply because the players association refused to take part as it was a slap against it’s members.
What union would serve up it’s members for slaughter?
Rebecca – LOL – but generally on L&O they want to move venue because of publicity. I don’t think that would be the issue here, as this is a nationally broadcast issue. The real question is how good are your jurors? Will they be too “pro-Roger” in Texas? Will they be smarter in NY and more inclined to listen to evidence as opposed to emotion? Neither of these would legally justify moving from Texas to NY, but they are things for the lawyers to consider in seeking to do so.
Boston Dave -
I guess we’ll never know about that, huh?
But I think they severely misjudged what Clemens would do. And now, the entire focus of the whole report is Clemens and McNamee. Radomski and most of the other players are peripheral now, at best. And in spite of the fact that Selig came out today (according to Pete’s prior post) with a whole new set of clubhouse restrictions, I think the purpose of the report has been lost. So you could say that Mitchell failed miserably in his efforts.
Randy: I’d suspect Clemens has more conservative leanings, but I obviously don’t know for sure.
However, if you see how Fox News always runs ads on YES, I’m not looking at them as my #1 objective source. Not that I would anyway, but that’s besides the point.
brian(redsoxfan)-
i think boston dave was referring to murphydog saying that it’s highly unusual for united state attorneys to make a deal to drop federal charges in exchange for someone giving info in a private business(mlb) investigation. murhydog floated the idea that they might be in trouble on this a few days ago.
my gut tells me that the wrath of feds is going to be the next bomb dropped. they can’t be happy and they’ve said nothing so far.
Doreen/Mr G –
I think the only thing that including names in the report does is direct the blame towards the players rather than the league in general. Clemens has become the fall guy. If there are no names, then people would be spending more time looking at the league as a whole and what went wrong. Thats no good for Bud.
I don’t understand why people are calling out Roger for drinking water!! Try talking for 2 hours without taking a drink. Now trying doing it when you’re upset. I bet you wouldn’t get thru 15 minutes.
Lori: I’d imagine they’d want to move it out of Texas or New York.
I agree with you 100% Clare.
Boston Dave – Texas law has a “clear and convincing evidence standard” for these types of suits. (I looked it up!) Honestly I don’t know the standard in NY (didn’t have time to look, and I don’t do those type of cases generally).
randy l -
thanks for clarifying. that is what i meant… figured i was a little off.
As I understand it, Clemens brought his suit in Texas state court. Emery is looking to move the case to Federal Court in Texas, and then to NY. Where does McNamee live? I imagine that Clemens has contacts with NY (bank accounts, property, etc.) Does McNamee?
Anyone know if anyother Yankee blogs had a live blow by blow of the 60 minutes piece. Sounds to me like Mac was reading our very own Pete Abe’s blog.
If you are indeed reading this I feel awful for your son and only for your son. Right now I do not believe you. Why didn’t you say, I TOLD THE TRUTH Roger, I’m sorry I had to, I didn’t want to go to jail.
Rebecca- Not sure where else they can argue about going. Once the case gets to federal court, it is a pretty tough standard to convince a judge to transfer the case to a different state — particularly when one of the parties is from that state.
My theory….McNamee injected Clemens with steroids but told him it was B12. This way Clemens gets off saying that he never “knowingly” took steroids while McNamee is in compliance with the Feds investigation. Neither does jail time, Clemens gets out of going to Congress due to the lawsuit, McNamee can’t be touched by the Feds as he didn’t technically lie and Clemens employs McNamee as a trainer to his sons.
Ellen: From the phone conversation I gathered that McNamee’s living in a one bedroom in NY ATM.
Yup Boston Dave.
Who unilaterally hired Mitchell and set up the parameters?
Bud.
Who has escaped relatively clean?
Bud.
And exactly where is Kirk Radomski during this fiasco ? Why isn’t his name prominently mentioned as part and parcel of the whole mess concocted by Selig VIA Mitchell ?
Doreen -
I think you’re right. And Clemens may end up indirectly helping his buddy Pettitte after all. People are going to forget the other names in the report (to a degree). Other than at Fenway, Andy may not have too many hecklers. I don’t that it would bother him too much but you never know.
Lori, Dave, Clare, et al.
Not much I can add to the discussion about removal and Federal vs. State Courts. Emery knows neither he nor McNamee will get ANY traction in a Texas state courtroom and Hardin would prefer appearing before his pals in Texas State court.
My only question is where are most of the witnesses and evidence? If it’s back East (McNamee is from NY, MLB is headquartered in NYC, other witnesses may be closer to NY than Texas) that might militate in favor of Federal District Court in NY instead of Texas.
Well I just checked out all the major NY papers blogs, and Pete was the only one to have a blow by blow of 60 minutes.
thanks Lori –
I had no idea we had so many attorneys in here!!
next time I’m in trouble, I know where to turn
rebecca-
yup, most baseball players vote on the conservative side, but i’m surprised that a tabloid type news channel like fox is giving clemens the benefit of the doubt.
i haven’t thought about the peds issue in general as a liberal/conservative issue, but maybe it’ll go down those lines. interesting thought.
Hey attorneys how can I get out of Jury duty?
Rebecca – McNamee’s residence would be a factor if he tries to move the case (assuming it goes to Federal Court)
Just to back up murph even more with my own legal experience, I like how the littany of lies that Judas McNamee has been telling for the last couple of years now don’t seem to make anyone not believe him.
“On numerous occasions, including an SI.com interview in 2006, McNamee had denied any involvement with steroids. “I looked at them like white lies. . . .” (heyman article)
These “little white lies” are going to be used to destroy his credibility. So he lied then, but now, suddenly with jail staring him in the face, he’s telling the truth. Amazing.
I also find it quite amazing that these “legal experts” have yet to mention McNamee’s credibility. I guess roger was right, let’s just accuse people of anything, because that is all it takes nowadays. Where is the rest of the evidence that would be needed to convict roger in “real” court?
The word of an already admitted lier who was facing criminal charges for drug dealing would not carry weight necessary to convict with corroboration. IMLegalO
“And exactly where is Kirk Radomski during this fiasco ? Why isn’t his name prominently mentioned as part and parcel of the whole mess concocted by Selig VIA Mitchell ?”
Radmoski was smart enough to do business in a way that involved checks and mailing labels. He didn’t have to go with he said, she said. (And people used say if your name ended in “ski” you were stupid!)
The only difference in federal or state court is whether the federal or Texas rules of evidence and other procedural rules apply. The substantive law applied will be that of Texas.
There’s almost no chance of getting the case moved to NY. – If Ward had really wanted to be in NY he should have filed first – however even before Clemens filed suit it sounded like Ward wasn’t going to sue – saying after 60 Minutes that even though Clemens had defamed McNamee there weren’t any damages because “no one believed Clemens.” I think that was BS – and Ward was just blowing smoke about suing in the first place. However, not such a great move. Hardin’s won all the early battles, and notice Clemens/Hardin never threatened to sue, they just did it. That’s what most lawyers would advise, because by issuing threats you just allow the other party to file first in the venue of their choice.
Murphydog, Lori, et al:
It’s really easy to see this go to New York, though the one drawback is, as much of a media fiasco as it is already, NY will make it even more so.
Granted, still better than NY or LA…
Jennifer
Can you “Call in Sick?”
Rebecca – WWMD?
(What Would McCoy Do?)
I stand corrected, apologies.
Jennifer
many ways to get out of it. know someone invovled — some sort of prejudice that would keep you from being an “objective” juror. Medical reasons etc.
jennifer: Get my parents to fill in the slip, they’ll find some way, they didn’t even let me know that the form had come for me! I found it while snooping!
Wolf: Always. Though I am beginning to like SVU a bit better, but both still extremley good.
pp. 10-11 of the lawsuit are fascinating. If you haven’t read the suit, see item #s 26 thru 30:
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2008_ima.....tition.pdf
i hope one of the lawyers here can answer this: if Clemens is going to court with this, does it mean they have a witness, or some sort of evidence that would prove McNamee said this?
UtilityManDad
I don’t think that would fly.
How is the little Yankee fan doing? Keeping you awake all hours of the night?
Randy 1 …. TY for the clarification.
You’re right about the Feds. Crossing them is like crossing the Hitler SS. They’re not going to be attacked without a withering return of fire. The Mitchell Report has created a multitude of slippery slopes.
Jennifer,
Please don’t try to get out of jury duty!
We don’t want juries only filled with the biased, unemployed, or those too stupid to get out of it.
I know it’s a pain (I served recently and wanted to bash my head against the wall) but it’s really nice to have smart people on juries every now and then.
george –
i believe most of that came when Clemens’ attorneys met with McNamee in person prior to the Mitchell report being released but after they had been notified that McNamee implicated Clemens (in some way)
I’m not surprised that Roger didn’t know about Andy taking HGH either. I think Andy was probably embarrassed for a long time that he let himself get that desperate, the last person he would tell that to is his hero.
I agree Jennifer. Like you said, in all liklihood you’ll get the day off of work and can hang at the mall.
SVU has always been my favorite. I like CI pretty well too. But nothing beats the combo of Stabler, Benson, Munch, Tutuola, Cragen, Cabot, Novak, and Huang.
George,
Yes, McNamee mentioned on the call that he spoke to Jim Murray (who later Roger said worked for Hendricks) and he knew he was being taped. So I’m sure those paragraphs in the petition come straight from the tape. That’s why Ward isn’t disputing that McNamee said he was pressured, he’s saying his client was lying when he said that. As I noted above, calling your own client a liar is a very strange tactic.
guys i know the mitchell report was flawed and all, but you cant seriously think they could’ve released the report without any names. the media and the public would’ve gone CRAZY! they were stuck between a rock and a hard place, they had no subpoena power so these 2 creeps are all they had. i think mitchell’s bad decision was in taking on this job in the first place, the way it was set up was a no-win situation.
george:
I think Hardin said today that most of those kinds of statements come from a lengthy interview of McNamee done by Roger’s investigators.
Jennifer
Thanks for asking…….K Maris is doing well….likes to wake up around 530-600ish.Likes to eat,poop,and then sleep.
My mother had Jury duty in November….she was let out after a day and a half due to an answer about religon.
Oh yea, here’s his address:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/m.....38;zipcode=
I agree with ya there on SVU…….Det Benson is a cutie.
Once in federal court, the presumption is to honor the plaintiff’s choice of forum unless the defendant can show some prejudice. In federal court McNamee still has access to witnesses for depositions and documents in any state.
FWIW, I find that Law and Order Prime (The one with McCoy) is the most accurate as to law, police procedure and behavior of the various players. I find SVU the least accurate but more character driven. As for CI, D’Onofrio drives me crazy, he’s so clearly ACTING all the time.
Does anyone know of any other players who denied the legitimacy of their inclusion in the Mitchell report?
Didnt David Justice deny it? I wonder why he wasnt invited to speak or hasnt receive more press?
That is pretty good, although I’m sure mom would like 8ish.
I love watching all those csi, law and order shows.
Boston Dave
I heard Justice on M.Kay show a few weeks ago……he hinted about suing as well…….but who I dont know.
Brian McNamee is a man who has been placed under intense pressure,unfairly. He is not to be judged, just supported.
However unfairly he has been treated, he does not have the right to implicate Clemens, without proof. Two wrongs do not make a right.
Brian’s stress level is at a breaking point, I hope that his child gets better and that he finds some peace.
I miss bernie,
What I don’t understand is why the report is so limited. If Mitchell could get the feds to get Radomski and McNamee to cooperate, why couldn’t he get access to the Albany and Florida online pharmacy investigations that have led to the slow leaks of player names? Mitchell just quoted the public reports of the leaks. If I were Mitchell, (and could get various governmental agencies to help me out with my private, lucrative investigation), I would have gotten all the raw data from those investigations and gotten some young associates from my firm to go through it looking for player names.
SI said after the Mitchell report that more names were to come, and SI would know. Two reporters went on a raid on one of the Florida pharmacies (I think), and SI has been the recipients of some of the leaked names, so I believe them when they say they expect more names to leak out. If Mitchell had done a thorough job, all the names would be out already, and we wouldn’t have to worry about a random leak before, oh, say an ALCS Game 7.
Sorry I clicked before I finished
I dont know who Justice would sue….did MacNamee name him as well????
On December 14, 2007, Justice told ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd during a radio interview on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that his only involvement ever with performance-enhancing drugs was a discussion with Brian McNamee, then the New York Yankees’ strength coach, in 2000 about HGH (human growth hormone).
Of course, if Justice can show that McNamee was even remotely untruthful with his case, it would go a long way.
Jennifer:
You should go to jury duty, really. It’s the right thing. It’s your civic duty in fact (hence, jury “duty.”) I can’t promise you’ll meet a handsome rich lawyer and it can be tedious so bring a good book. But, it’s like voting. It’s very important and yes, one person can make a difference.
Jennifer-
Tell them you are breastfeeding & have a baby at home that you are looking after. I use that excuse, it was true (not the breastfeeding, lol) They will never look into it to see if you really have a child, unless you already do. BTW, you can tell I am not a lawyer. In CA where I live, you only get paid $15 a day if you get chosen & $1.50 if they let you go.
Jennifer – I’ve always been fascinated with what goes on in the jury room once the door is closed. It’s terribly frustrating waiting on the outside, going over questions you should (or should not) have asked! If you end up on a case, you’ll have to let us know what it was like once it’s over.
I agree with murphydog about serving jury duty, but some people don’t get paid for the time off of work, if the government reimbursed you, if would be another story.
They don’t pay that much in Jersey either. I don’t even know what the amount is.
“the media and the public would’ve gone CRAZY!”
Which is different from what happened…how?
Just read that bit of the lawsuit…
incredible.
on the subject of juries (sort of…)
“twelve angry men” (the original) is an awesome movie. Must see for people who like crime/drama and it stands up increadibly well for a movie from like 1960.
Clare, Thanks for answering my question.
Justice’s comments on McNamee are here – scroll down a bit to the Justice video. it contradicts McNamee in that it protrays McNamee as trying to push HGH onto Justice, and it is pretty funny in that Justice says he would have probably tried it if it didn’t involve needles:
http://www.yesnetwork.com/medi.....&m=12
In Texas state court, they have a system where the parties can agree to supplement the meager jury duty fee. Both parties have to agree and contribute (so one side isn’t buying the jury), but if it’s a long trial both sides usually will ante up. The last thing you want is pissed off jurors.
McNamee is a slimeball. Roger is innocent until proven guilty in mind mind, and until I actually here see some concrete evidence and not just “he said”. I’d like to believe he’s innocent.
I thought was Justice had to say was interesting, but I think he’s gotten a free pass for naming names to Mitchell. Also, Howard Bryant on ESPN.com refutes what Justice has said about how he didn’t know Mitchell was trying to get back in touch with him after McNamee’s allegation (when Justice talked to the investigators there were no allegations against him). Bryant says he saw the certified letter receipt that Mitchell sent to Justice with Justice’s signature on it.
So, what I’m saying is Justice isn’t the most credible source. (And, irrelevant, I know, but I’ll never forgive him for what he said about ARod in 2006 – mean and petty IMO).
Could you imagine getting called for jury duty in this case?
“but once again i ask you your opinion do u think roger took ped’s
you never answered me last time.
(i still think he did)”
i miss bernie-
i feel like it’s deja vu all over again.lol. i keep saying i really don’t know what roger did. and you keep asking what i think.
look at mcnamee saying he wasn’t surprised that clemens didn’t know about pettitte getting a few hgh shots. it’s not like people talk about doing things they aren’t supposed to be doing.
i need some hard evidence to make a more informed decision. i’m glad we’re getting into deeper issues here though the back and forth discussions that are actually ahead of the national news.
Clare What did he say?
randy l .
agreed.
some of the discussion in here is really great and WAY ahead, and in most cases more open-minded, than what is being discussed in the mainstream news.
Jennifer – see Georges link
I meant what did he say about Alex.
ohhh, yeah i would like to read that as well. i remember something but not exactly what was said.
Boston Dave: I think that’s usually the case!
Rebecca – I guess you’re right
Pete – we’re gonna crack 1000 posts total for the day. Not bad for the offseason.
Jennifer,
I assume you mean Justice? George posted a link just a little earlier. I didn’t click the link, but I remember seeing Justice on YES right after the Mitchell report was released, and he said that contrary to McNamee’s assertion, he never did HGH. What happened, IIRC, according to Justice, is that he was having injury issues while with the Yankees, and McNamee told him he should try HGH. Justice said he didn’t know anything about it, but McNamee left it in his locker for him. Once he saw it involved needles, he didn’t use it because he hates needles. He admitted he might have tried it if it wasn’t an injection. But he says the whole issue was instigated by McNamee. He also claimed that he didn’t know about the allegation, or that Mitchell wanted to talk to him about again.
The first time he talked to Mitchell, the report kind of snarkily reports that he named names of suspected steroid users. The report doesn’t say who he named.
New Yorkers love a good legal drama!
I mean, could you really set Law and Order in, I dunno, Denver, and get away with it?
Not to knock Denver or anything…
Not a peep out of the Spineless One, a.k.a. the walking around pinata, the so-called Commissioner of Baseball.
His best bet is to make himself scarce during All Star week in The Bronx. Any sight of him will draw boos heard all the way to Jersey.
randy…still dancing
you have strong opinions about mcnamee aand mitchell you’ve stated these opinions many times, but you refuse to say your opinion on whether roger did peds as a yankee
dont say you dont have enough info to have an opinion that is b.s.
Jennifer,
Sorry, I just saw your clarification. I don’t have a link, but I saw it live. He said something along the lines of ARod only hits homeruns when they don’t count. But he went on for a bit, saying ARod is not who you want up at the plate when the game’s on the line.
The whole ARod 2006 thing still makes me so mad. The man was the reigning MVP at the time, and yes, he slumped a bit. But the piling on by people like Justice was ridiculous. I was reminded of it, and Justice’s comments when watching a Yankee Classic the other day. They replayed the 2006 Braves game where ARod hit the 12th inning walk-off HR, and you could hear the booing earlier in the game.
Clare -
I think Jennifer meant what Justice said about ARod.
Clare:
You know, the funny thing is jeter had a way, way, way worse ALDS than A-Rod did, but Jeter can do no wrong…
ARod has 500+ HR. I guess Justice expects them all to “count”.
Oh yeah now I remember that. I don’t particularly care for Justice.
I posted the link to the PDF of the lawsuit on the blog if anybody wants to read it. Interesting stuff.
Pretty insane that it has come to this. Roger wants a trial by jury in Texas. McNamee could have Perry Mason and the entire cast of L.A. Law and not win in Harris County.
My dad, an objective sports fan for the most part, says that he didn’t believe Clemens at first and now he does. I think a lot of people are going that route.
hey now, lets not forget, justice really carried the yanks for a few weeks the season they got him, he was great for those 6 weeks!
I can’t open pdf’s on my computer anymore, whenever I open it my IE closes.
I forgot to ask my IT guy today for help, although he isn’t much help.
jennifer: Use firefox! Better, faster, safer browsing!
Peter,
All I know is I want to be Rusty Hardin when I grow up.
He looks like a genius so far, and I found him totally credible at the press conference today (and I usually hate folksy Texas lawyers).
Pete,
It will be very interesting to see how public opinion changes. I don’t know that it’s right to really believe or not believe anybody at this point but at least people are more open-minded about it and considering that Roger may be innocent.
I wonder how McNamee is able to read the blog now that Clemens stopped paying his internet bill.
Jennifer -
I think the smoking gun website has it in non-pdf format
touche
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/a.....mens1.html
It worked thanks Rebecca, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it. I guess there is some sort of conflict between IE and pdf. I just need to get rid of that stdupid google tool bar.
Smoking Gun…
…nice way to put a pun on everything.
from the si heyman article on mcnamee:
“Three months later, in August, he was called before Mitchell, and asked to nod to what he told the feds the month before. When he was done nodding, he says Mitchell hugged him. ”
hugged him? what the hell is that? i’m beginning to wonder if clemens when he was with the red sox didn’t sign mitchell’s grandkid’s baseball card or something.
Well I’m out, wish me luck.
I still believe Roger used PED’s to a degree. Definitely not to the extent that Bonds did. McNamee might not be credible, but there is no incentive for him to lie. I don’t think Feds wanted Clemens in particular, so this is a different beast from the BALCO case.
In Heyman’s article, McNamee mentions that Roger never used steroids in the offseason or spring or early part of the season. This explains why Roger’s body didn’t break down, like Bonds’ or Giambi’s. These kinds of statements make me believe McNamee’s version still.
randy, that is a little odd. Like thanks for giving dirt on Yankees.
OK, I just got back to my apartment in NY after camping out with my parents and sisters for a few weeks. The Yankees sent everybody a Christmas tree ornament in their official Christmas card. I have one from 2007 and one from 2006.
Anybody want them? I’ll mail them to you tomorrow. Two winners, one ornament each. Here are the rules:
1. Have been around here a while (I’ll know)
2. Send me your address.
3. Want them to put on your tree, not sell them on E-Bay.
4. And answer this trivia question:
I have three Patriots jerseys. Two from current players, one throwback. Name one of them and win.
First come, first served. Ready, set, e-mail!
WE HAVE TWO WINNERS! Congrats to Dave and Jim and sorry to those who guessed wrong. You guys better hang those on your tree next year or Santa will bring you a big bag of Carl Pavano.
For the record, I have three Pats jerseys: John Hannah, Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel. I may get a Wes Welker this weekend or perhaps Richard Seymour.
Aww man, no Hanukah candles?
In those situations where clicking on a pdf won’t work (for whatever mysterious reason), I’d just right-click and save as to local disc, then open from there. Then Adobe, or whatever PDF reader you use (I use FoxIt, as it loads faster
), shouldn’t have any issues from then on.
“randy…still dancing…
dont say you dont have enough info to have an opinion that is b.s.”
i miss bernie-
i’m a bad dancer. notice peter’s poll. there’s an “i’m not sure” choice.
I’M NOT SURE.
it’s kind of funny how you think someone has to make a choice one way or the other on something like this. it’s not like flipping a coin. there’s not just two choices. there’s a third choice and for me, it’s “i don’t know” .
damn, i thought we were getting somewhere on that.
Blargh Thanks for the tip.
Just emailed ya Pete. Hee hee hee…. (fingers crossed)
Haven’t been on the blog all day, I too had the honror of listening to Mike and the Mad Dog on a long car drive from AC.
I did get back in time to hear and or see the Clemens press conference. I didn’t think it made Clemens seem any less guilty than earlier.
I do think from a legal standpoint Clemens, if he can stick to his story, has a good chance to clear his name.
However, I do still am sure he did roids or HGH, no doubt in my mind. I am very surprised that many folks are changing their opinions on that.
No need for xmas ornaments here.
Wouldn’t it be something if instead of the usual blogs, Brian McNamee was “pinch hitting” as a guest blogger?
Jeff -
how can you say you are sure, no doubt in your mind? thats pretty bold considering there is such little hard evidence.
i dont know how anyone can say they are sure either way.
The whole rape investigation of McNamee and him lying puts a whole new spin on this. If I were McNamee, I would be really scared right now. If he loses this case, things could get rough.
Rape investigation? O_O;;
The original Law & Order used to be fairly accurate (about as accurate as you can get in a few minute portrayals of court room scenes.) Unfortunately, like so much television today, it became rather sensationalized and with it went the accuracy in the court room and district attorney portrayals.
Anyone interested should read this background on McNamee, especially the rape allegations:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3153874
This guy sounds like a major league scumbag. (And it doesn’t reflect well on either Clemens or Pettite that they kept him on as their personal trainer).
Go NYR –
Technically if McNamee loses the case, he’s goin to jail!
The case against his credibility is mounting by the hour.
Nettles -
didnt Clemens (via the Yankees) fire McNamee after the rape case?
I think Clemens eventually employed him again after hearing his side of the story and doing what nobody is doing for him now… gave him the benefit of the doubt (since he was never charged in the end).
Hank Steinbrenner (of course) has weighed in from Tampa. Quotes on this post.
Hank Steinbrenner’s weighing in on Clemens now. He just said tonight that people shouldn’t rush to judgment on the guy, then quickly added that, as for him, he has no idea whether Roger is telling the truth or not. Thanks for the support, Hank!
Hey Pete – What do the Yanks send the Jewish sportswriters? I’m not sure an ornament would look like hanging off a menorah.
Oh man.
We are in for one wild ride.
According to ESPN:
“For more than a month in 2001, McNamee was a suspect. However, no charges were filed. Early in the investigation, the woman lied to investigators about her reason for being at the Renaissance Vinoy hotel — she was having an affair with another Yankees employee who was married, and didn’t want to reveal that. When investigators realized this, they declined to pursue the investigation of McNamee. A few months later, the Yankees quietly let McNamee go. But Clemens and Pettitte kept using him as their personal trainer.”
Here’s a little Rudy G for you:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01.....720309.htm
I’m pretty sure that a few months had gone by after McNamee was fired by the Yankees for the whole rape situation and McNamee contacted Clemens and told him that he was broke and that no one would hire him because of the allegations, and then gave his side of the story which was essentially that he was covering for some other Yankees who were really responsible for the date rape drugs. That’s when Clemens took him on as his personal trainer.
That’s the way I understand the timeline at least.
It’s shady any way you take it and portrays all parties in a really bad light
Hardin’s petition is a PR masterpiece, and it explains the rape issue as follows:
Clemens fired McNamee after the allegation and after the Yankees fired him. McNamee contacted him and begged for his job back, saying that he was only trying to resuscitate the woman, and that he took the rap for someone else. Clamens, not knowing that the police concluded McNamee was lying, and giving him the benefit of the doubt, rehired him.
I wonder if Congress will get into that incident? I read somewhere that one of the things McNamee lied about was where he met the woman, and at some point they were hanging with other people in Knoblach’s room. Apparently Congress called just the people involved in the McNamee allegations (wonder why?), but I wonder if they ask McNamee and/or Knoblach about that night.
“The whole rape investigation of McNamee and him lying puts a whole new spin on this. If I were McNamee, I would be really scared right now. If he loses this case, things could get rough.”
Not a knock on you, Go NYR – just so I make that clear.
But – people should have been bearing this in mind from the very start. This was something that I thought was fairly common knowledge about McNamee when the whole Mitchell report drama began. It doesn’t have any relevance to whether Clemens is telling the truth or not, but it speaks volumes about the kind of person McNamee is. He’s a terrible “source” to be used at the center of the whole saga. He was fired by the Yankees. He was let go by Clemens. He was facing jail time after a series of setbacks in his life. How anybody could not see this man had the motivation or guts to lie in order to save his own keister is beyond me.
Diversity jurisdiction also provides that the amount in controversy must exceed $75,000.
Interestingly, Clemens’ complaint makes no mention of a dollar figure in its claim for damages. That might preclude the case being removed to federal court.
Not meeting the amount in controversy is almost never a ground to prevent removal unless it’s legally impossible to recover $75,000. I can’t see either side raising it as an issue.
I’m so frustrated right now because I saved a story from SI.com from November 14, 2006 right around when the LA Times story came out with the Grimsely situation, and it is completely filled with contradicting statements from McNamee but I can’t find a link online, all I have is the story itself.
We shall see. I think it’s interesting that the complaint lacks a dollar figure.
Maybe someone will have better luck than I did searching for it? The title of the story is “The Sixth Man”.
Hank: “I don’t rush to judgment. That’s the big thing with me. I don’t do that…”
I don’t know Hank, you sure rush to make a public statement every single opportunity you get.
I love Hank, he makes everything more fun. There ought to be a broadway musical written about him.
This it:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....index.html
Lee: it’s not really unusual for the complaint to request that damages be determined at trial. Unfortunately, I see them all the time.
Say it ain’t so,
Is this it?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....index.html
That’s it! Thanks so much guys, it was driving me crazy, haha.
After hearing the taped Phone call were Brian M. sounded desperate and now a rape allegation, my prediction is he hangs himself in his closet. Reporters and radio morons will not waver in their round the clock flogging of Clemens not knowing if he is innocent or guilty but utterly convinced he’s unable to prove his innocence.
At this point, since the Judiciary Committee has poked its head into this can of worms, doesn’t it now have to look into McNamee’ allegations that the Justice dept. pressured him to lie?
What McNamee alleges is a more serious crime on the prosecutor’s & FBI agent’s parts than anything anyone in baseball has done.
Ultimately, if McNamee can back that up, they should offer him immunity, even if that would mean he perjures his testimony from Mitchell. Otherwise how can we know McNamee is telling the truth now when he testifies?
with clemens, pettitte, and knoblach being called in by congress, i’m wondering why congress hasn’t called in jeff mangold, the strength and conditioning coach at the time all the players were there.
he’d obviously have a lot of opinions about what was going on, and just as obviously not want to be involved. i still think it’s strange how he was let go after ninet years and the inexperienced marty miller hired. the yankees still haven’t hired anyone for the vacant job. is it possible it’s gone through the grapevine that it’s gong to be a tough job to have because of the spotlight on it now and they can’t get anyone good?
it’s kind of strange to not have a strength and conditioning coach.
A McNamee quote from the Heymann article: “I don’t have any dealings with steroids or amphetamines,” McNamee said. “I didn’t buy it, sell it, condone it or recommend it. I don’t make money from it, it’s not part of my livelihood and not part of my business.”
We could be dealing with something that, in the end, gets to be a lot bigger than just ‘roids, but who knows…
Of course since Clemens is so repeatedly insistent that he is innocent it must be that is the case. After all Pete Rose insisted for 18 years that he didn’t gamble, Michael Vick repeatedly insisted on his innocence, and Palermo even testified before Congress that he didn’t do steroids and all these people ended up being innocent…….oh wait…..
ray, what is an innocent person to do, other than protest his innocence?
ray: Those guys had stuff stronger than the testimony of a date rapist going against them xP
Say It Aint So…..absolutely great find. This could very well be used if this thing ever does go to trial.
George
You hit this one on the nose. It really depends on the politics of the situation right now, and who would benefit from an investigation of the FBI.
Use this to show that the FBI can’t be trusted with the Patriot Act? Possibly, since it is high profile.
During the height of the primaries, a few weeks before Mega-Tuesday (or whatever they are calling it), in something that will attract the male voter demographic (which usually skews Republican)…
My guess is that the Democratic Senate buries it. Too high risk attacking the FBI at this point in the campaign.
good point Blargh…
rodg12-
Shouldn’t the credit go to Fernando & myself for actually finding the article. Jk
Blargh
If the “date rapist” is such a horrible person why did both Clemens and Pettite keep him as a trainer after those allegations?
Lee- It is not at all unusual for a complaint not to contain a dollar figure. Some jurisdictions in fact preclude a complaint from doing so. I can’t imagine that if McNamee tried to remove this, Clemens would object saying he didn’t intend to recover more than $75,000. Although, as I type it, I guess given that, supposedly, Clemens point is to clear his name and not the money he could say that and keep the case in state court (before his lawyer’s judge buddies).
(Just a point from personal experience — having appeared before Hardin as a defense lawyer — he is very friendly with the “good ole boys” down there in Texas. I wouldn’t put it by him to do what it takes to keep his case down there).
Scoring correction…..credit the assist to Buddy and Fernando. Better?
Blargh-
What does the xP refer to?
ray – technically they fired McNamee after the allegations. after some time, and no charges were filed against McNamee, Clemens gave him the benefit of the doubt and hired him back.
If you want to defend McNamee as a good guy and credible source, good luck to you.
Lori – while that may be good for Roger… that is kind of frightening that the attorneys are good pals with the judges.
what is going on in this country? yikes…
I use xP as a smiley/emoticon similar to
Brings a bit of levity along with the semi-serious or serious comment
Lori – cool! That’s awesome that you’re familiar with Hardin. I never get to meet the important folks. I was before a Federal judge last week and I’m fairly certain that he slept through my entire argument.
dave,
I’m not at all defending McNamee as a good guy. I just find it interesting that after everything is said and done that Clemens did keep him as his trainer.
BD – rule #1: always employ local counsel.
Thanks rodg12, and yes, assist goes to Buddy and Fernando
Thanks again for finding it, I was really losing my mind looking for it, haha.
Lori – while that may be good for Roger… that is kind of frightening that the attorneys are good pals with the judges.
what is going on in this country? yikes…
————————————————————-
Forget this being content for a Law & order episode, sounds more like Dukes of Hazzard.
ray,
i really dont know. apparently it was a poor decision whether rocket is innocent or guilty. i think roger liked the guy, they seemed to be friends, and he does credit mcnamee with helping him stay in top shape. so if mcnamee wasnt charged with any crime… i guess roger gave him a second chance.
ray-
I think Clemens really thought of McNamee like family after all he was injecting “stuff” into his butt.
PittsburghYankeeFan, unfortunately I agree that Congress probably will not do the right thing. Waxman, the head of the Grandstanding Committee, has been ineffective – he makes a lot of noise about investigations, but nothing meaningful ever comes of them; the Bush admin will blow them off as usual, and Waxman just whimpers.
it will be interesting to see Mr. Clemens go to Washington. I hope he expresses his view on regulatory/oversight incompetence and Vioxx. Clemens is such a maniac when he gets on a roll, hopefully he’ll go on a good rant about that.
maybe hank will barge into the hearings to give his two cents… or four cents… five, six….
Boston Dave- Certain state courts are really scary places and parts of Texas are worse than others (where they elect their judges and run real campaigns).
Ellen – as a defense lawyer, it wasn’t cool at all. He was very friendly with the plaintiffs’ lawyers. One used to go hunting with him all the time; another was his campaign manager. Very scary indeed. Fortuntely, my client settled and we got away from him.
lori and ellen-
when do you expect the us attorney and irs investigators to react to all this?
they can’t be happy with what was written in the defamation lawsuit about them and in mcnamee looking like he”s losing it on an emotional level.
dave and buddy,
I do see your points. It does make sense that at least at that time Clemens and his trainer were on good terms and it does seem that Clemens gave him the benefit of the doubt. Guess I can’t fault Clemens for that.
apx 967 comments today…. i gotta go to bed but somebody post 33 more and make pete happy, will ya?
randy l
great thing is… all of the allegations against the government in this situation came from McNamee testimony to Clemens’ lawyers.
if they want to go after anyone, they have to go after McNamee. So McNamee can say he lied (again?), or he can say he was truthful – in which case he is the one claiming there was misconduct.
Lori – Im beginning to be thankful that all of my court appearances, though they didnt exactly go in my favor, were in MA…. TX definitely scares me
How would you like to be the beat reporter down in Tampa where your one and only job is to stake out Hank for quotes for everything. Although he does give good quotes not exactly the beat I would want.
goodnight everyone….
Lori: THanks for your insight, it really is enlightening…
ray-
I just think the results Clemens got from McNamee were why he kept him & since there were no charges brought against McNamee he gave him the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn’t have.
boston dave-
you mean the feds are going to go after mcnamee for saying to clemens investigators that he was coerced by us attorney parrella and irs special agent novitsky?
i would think they need to get him back under control from their point of view. he seems like a loose cannon now, rather than an asset to their case.
Wow. Go out for a few hours and all hell breaks loose.
First of all, Law & Order is the best tv franchise ever. SVU is slightly better than L&O even though the storylines are about horrible things. Wish Elliot & Benson would just hook up already.
Second, was Peter joking about McNamee reading the blog?
Third, there’s a lot of people around the Yankee organization who don’t want this to go to trial. McNamee’s lawyers will drag them through the mud.
Fourth, how ’bout the SEC? Guess they are the best conference.
I’m actually not a fan of regular Law and Order but I watch SVU every chance I get. And I like Criminal Intent only when Vincent D’Onofrio is on.
Isn’t when these cases go to trial that they become really costly to the clients. How can McNamee even afford it, unless his lawyers goes pro bono.
randy: that is a great question. I have to imagine that they’ll weigh everything really carefully before there is any official response, perhaps hoping that the public firestorm dies down soon. The American public has a notoriously short attention span.
mel: I must be the last adult on earth who has never seen an episode of L & O. I see to many lawyers for my liking in real life.
I think Pete was half kidding about McNamee reading this blog.
I have never seen Law & Order either, b/c my wife forces me to watch Bruno vs Carrie Ann.
mel: Jennifer went and looked, and Pete was the only one to liveblog 60 minutes, so Pete may not have been kidding too much.
I could get into how I want slash of certain SVU characters, but I realize that might not be suitable for all audiences so I shall refrain from commenting.
SVU has much better storylines, I think.
mel-
I have to disagree, the Simpsons is the best TV franchise ever IMO.
ellen,
Give it a chance. They keep it current by ripping their storylines right out of the headlines. They also have the perfect turnover of characters to keep it fresh. Sam Waterston (Jack McCoy) has been there forever and is now the DA because the guy playing the DA is running for president in real life. In fact McCoy used to be the asst DA that wanted to break the rules and now he has new guy that replaces him and does the same thing. It’s like a whole generation in tv years.
The prosecutors are the good guys and they always portray the defense attorneys and ACLU guys as scumbags.
Lots of ethics questions addressed. And there’s always a conclusion to the case, even if it’s open-ended. So no having to wait until the next episode to see what happens.
And come to think of it, not too many lawyers. Prosecutors, detectives, witnesses, and assorted scumbags.
You watch. There will be a Clemens/McNamee storyline with a twist. They did the J-Lo/P. Diddy nightclub thing among others.
Sounds like it was really a fun day on here today. I hate that I missed everything due to work. And I have never been a viewer of Law and Order either. I always watched Matlock in my younger days.
Buddy,
Funny. Caught a glimpse of the Simpsons last night and couldn’t believe how I couldn’t get into it. It’s so…80′s lol. But I love Family Guy, just cause it’s so ‘tarded.
Thanks Rebecca – At least this is an area I actually know something about (law, not steroids). Most of the time I just come here and read everyone else’s insights.
‘night all. tomorrow is another day . . .
The real shame in all of this? Congress could be passing a bill to use all the hot air generated to provide an alternative energy source. Of course that would mean a major loss in revenue to war machines & sheikhs who own Rolls, import blondes & eat off gold while they control religion opiated lower life forms. Because: Hey! look over there, it’s Roger Clemens—cheater, doper & future Hall of Famer. . ..
Family Guy is pretty dang funny.
Juke-
Well said! You must be happy with Obama’s showing thus far.
Have we crossed a 1000 for the day yet????
We’re close, like 15 more, maybe less.
Anyone able to stomach ESPN? I just clicked over there and was disgusted. Jemelle Hill thinks she’s clever by calling Clemens Fraudger. Every other high-paid shill is calling him a liar. Most seem like they didn’t even listen to most of the press conference. It’s really disturbing how distorted the media’s portrayal of things can be. If you don’t take the time to listen and read things for yourself, you’ll be completely misled. But most people don’t have the time, or interest, to watch the whole hour-long press conference, read the Mitchell report, etc.
(And I won’t even get started on the political media in this country.)
I know bashing the media is about as tired a cliche as bashing lawyers, but I think it’s really a problem.
Dunno, but I’m headed for some shut eye, didn’t go to sleep till about four last night!
Anyway, gotta get my teeth poked n’ prodded at tomorrow, so I’ll see you all sometime later.
Pleasant dreams!
Everyone looks through their own lens, but for me the McNamee/Clemens phone conversation fits perfectly w/the conspiracy theory/Clemens lawsuit claim that McNamee was coerced into falsely implicating Clemens.
a) Mitchell’s team knew they were toast without some big revelation (weak report with Clemens, and much worse without)
b) McNamee feels he’ll go to jail if he doesn’t tell “the truth”
c) McNamee contacts Clemens, appealing to his humanity as a Dad (multiple references to Clemens’ commitment as a father.
d) If McNamee tells the real truth now, he goes to jail. So he asks Clemens, whom McN says taught him how to be a good dad, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to tell the truth and go to jail while my son is dieing and needs me?
Clemens wants someone to tell the truth, but he can’t bring himself to tell McNamee to put himself in jail given his son’s condition.
Goodnight, all.
Bed time for this guy. Later everyone.
Note: Texas’ state court system is steeped in cronyism, nepotism, and corruption because their judges are elected to 4 to 10 year terms, rather than appointed for life, as on the Federal bench.
As a consequence, state corporations and local trial lawyers contribute large sums of money, and maintain a fraternal, if not incestuous, relationship with the bench. Dubya enacted campaign contribution legislation for judicial races but– whaddya know– it has had much of an effect.
Now, whether the contributions sway Judges’ decisions poses one of those imponderables no one has ever proved. The appearance of impropriety, as we lawyers say, however, is self-evident.
Expect McNamee’s attorney to remove the case to a Texas Federal Ct, accordingly, withing the next 30-days. Federal law enables an out-of-state defendant sued in a foreign jurisdiction– ie, McNamee a New Yorker sued in Texas– to remove the case to Fed Court. The law’s rationale presumes an out-of-state defendant will receive a fair hearing in a federal court, where the judges are more competent and more dispassionate arbiters because they don’t need to worry about re-election. (Also, the jury pool is larger and more diverse heterogenous because the federal court’s jurisdiction typically encompasses a wider area than the state’s.)
Every time one of our clients is sued in a Texas state court, we remove the case to Fed Court at the first opportunity. Lori’s right: Embree will not want to face Hardin in a Texas state court in a county where Roger Clemens lives.
Note: Texas’ state court system is steeped in cronyism, nepotism, and corruption because their judges are elected to 4 to 10 year terms, rather than appointed for life, as on the Federal bench.
As a consequence, state corporations and local trial lawyers contribute large sums of money to judges’ election campaign, and maintain a fraternal, if not incestuous, relationship with the bench outside the court room.
Dubya enacted campaign contribution legislation for judicial races but– whaddya know– it has not had much of an effect.
Now, whether the contributions sway Judges’ decisions poses one of those imponderables no one has ever proved. The appearance of impropriety, as we lawyers say, however, is self-evident.
Expect McNamee’s attorney to remove the case to a Texas Federal CT, accordingly, withing the next 30-days. Federal law enables an out-of-state defendant sued in a foreign state– ie, McNamee a New Yorker, I assume, sued in Texas– to remove the case to Fed Court. The law presumes an out-of-state defendant will receive a fairer hearing in a federal court, where the judges are more competent, more dispassionate, and more immune to public opinion because they don’t have to face re-election.
(Also, the jury pool is typically larger and more racially and economically diverse because the federal court’s jurisdiction encompasses a wider area than the state’s.)
Every time one of our clients is sued in a Texas state court, we remove the case to Fed Court at the first opportunity.
Lori’s right: Embree will not want to face Hardin in a Texas state court in a county where Roger Clemens lives.
I wonder if the reason Chuck Knoblauch was invited to testify before Congress has anything to do with his part in the alleged date rape case?
“[McNamee] was with the woman with several other Yankees players in Chuck Knoblauch’s room. He denied to police that he even knew Wonsowicz, his college teammate and fellow Yankees employee. He said Wonsowicz looked familiar, and he might be a “green fly,” ballplayer slang for a hanger-on who looks for autographs.”
It seems like McNamee’s function in life is to take the fall for his peers, fellow employees, employers, and friends (as a cop, as a partying Yankee employee, as a trainer, and as a rich pitcher’s dogsbody).
The comment about “green flies” is charitable, to say the least. A “green fly” is a Baseball Annie, willing to put out for baseball players for free, just to be seen with them. Nowadays the green flies even have their pictures with ballplayers up on their MySpace sites.
A male “Baseball Annie” presumably gets the less appealing girls who hang around the ballplayers…
Be assured that the days of “green flies” hanging around any type of Yankee personnel are all over and done with. The pool incident in St. Pete wasn’t the final straw as far as the Yankees are concerned. It was George Steinbrenner’s former son-in-law(Steve Swidal)that changed the face of off-field activities in tarnishing the Yankee name.